Emergency inspections have turned up five more Boeing 737 jets missing pins that help keep steering wheels in place, a Boeing Co. spokesman says.
That brings to seven the number of missing cotter pins spotted on Boeing-made 737s within the past two weeks, said the spokesman, Jack Gamble.The five jets reported Tuesday belonged to foreign carriers that neither Boeing nor the Federal Aviation Administration would name.
The FAA last week ordered U.S.-owned airlines to inspect steering assemblies on 737 models 300, 400 and 500 that were built over the past two years.
The order came after a steering wheel came off in a co-pilot's hands during a test flight of a 737-400 delivered to a West German air carrier. The pilot immediately took control. The plane landed safely, Boeing said.
The plane's steering mechanism was later found to be missing cotter pins. The second missing cotter pin involved a 737 parked on Boeing's flight test line at Boeing Field in Seattle.